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Graduating Veterans, SALUTE Inductees Honored

More than 70 veterans will graduate from CWU in June. They were honored at a reception June 4.

Ten of those veterans became members of SALUTE (Service, Academics, Leadership, Unity, Tribute, and Excellence), the veteran’s national honor society. CWU has the only chapter of SALUTE in Washington State.

At the ceremony, graduates were awarded CWU Veteran Alumni challenge coins to celebrate their success.

CWU Veteran Center’s Ruben Cardenas, outreach recruiter, and Susie Beador, director, presented the Veteran Alumni coins. According to Cardenas, challenge coins have a long and illustrious history throughout the armed forces. They originated in World War I, when a fighter squadron was issued the coins before battle. The legend is that the coin saved a young airman’s life, by establishing his identity when he was thought to be a spy. Challenge coins are now presented by unit commanders in recognition of special achievement by a member of the unit. The challenge coin is a treasured and respected representation of the organization minted on the coin.